The present invention relates to an elongate strip or moulding of the type attached to an automobile body side or other motor vehicles for protection or decoration.
Trim strips of various configurations have been used in the automotive industry to decorate and protect the surfaces of an automobile, especially the body side surfaces. In recent years, emphasis has been placed on replacing chromed metallic moulding strips with improved plastic trim strips which do not corrode and can be adhesively attached to the automobile body without fasteners. There are a number of examples of such trim strips in the patent literature.
Madonia, U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,155 (1981) discloses a decorative body side moulding in which a decorative strip is laminated to an extruded strip of a pliable material and the two strips are overcoated with a weather resistant coating of acrylic monomer.
Narita, U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,681 (1980) teaches a trim in which a thin metal layer is laminated to a plastic substrate and coated with a soft PVC resin provided with a matt surface.
Wenrick, U.S. Pat. No. 4,010,297 (1977) discloses a composite trim strip made up of two adhesively bonded non-coextensive longitudinal body portions, one body portion being wider than and adapted to receive the other body portion. The body portions are assembled and attached to the side of an automobile using elastomeric adhesives which serve to distribute impact.
Sawa et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,482 (1975) illustrates a moulding wherein a reflective layer is deposited on a rigid synthetic resin base which is coated with a clear synthetic resin layer and overcoated with a protective layer of synthetic resin of uniform thickness.
Kent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,425 (1974) relates to a decorative trim having a longitudinal passage therethrough which is filled or coated with a decorative material such as a paint. The trim is formed with a shallow channel on its underlying surface which carries adhesive.